First-principles studies of the elastic and magnetic properties of monolayer CrN

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with robust ferromagnetism properties have high potentials for application in the field of spintronics. However, extensively pursued 2D sheets, including pure graphene, monolayer BN, and layered transition metal dichalcogenides, are either nonmagnetic or weakly magnetic. The elastic, electronic and magnetic properties of monolayer CrN are calculated using the plane wave pseudo potential method based on first-principles density function theory. Upon determining through calculation that the structure of the monolayer CrN nanosheet is stable, its layer modulus [Formula: see text] shows that its strain resistance is stronger than that of graphene. Through strain analysis, materials with a monolayer CrN type of structure can be obtained. It is determined that 10% of the change in equilibrium area is still applicable to the 2D EOS, showing that this structure is quite stable. The spin-polarized electronic band structure is also calculated under different plane symmetry strains. The plane strain can be used to effectively adjust the metallic and magnetic properties of the material. Analyses of the band structure and density of states reveal that this material is half-metallic, where the origin of the ferromagnetism is related to [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] exchange interactions between the Cr and N atoms. Monolayer CrN has semimetallic properties and strong ferromagnetic (FM) properties. The FM effect can enhance the stability of the material. The results show that monolayer CrN is a semimetallic material with good elastic properties and a strong FM property. This material is therefore expected to have good application rospects in the field of spin electronics.

Superconductivity assisted change of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in V/MgO/Fe junctions

Controlling the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in thin films has received considerable attention in recent years due to its technological importance. PMA based devices usually involve heavy-metal (oxide)/ferromagnetic-metal bilayers, where, thanks to interfacial spin-orbit coupling (SOC), the in-plane (IP) stability of the magnetisation is broken. Here we show that in V/MgO/Fe(001) epitaxial junctions with competing in-plane and out-of-plane (OOP) magnetic anisotropies, the SOC mediated interaction between a ferromagnet (FM) and a superconductor (SC) enhances the effective PMA below the superconducting transition. This produces a partial magnetisation reorientation without any applied field for all but the largest junctions, where the IP anisotropy is more robust; for the smallest junctions there is a reduction of the field required to induce a complete OOP transition ($$H_\text {OOP}$$ H OOP ) due to the stronger competition between the IP and OOP anisotropies. Our results suggest that the degree of effective PMA could be controlled by the junction lateral size in the presence of superconductivity and an applied electric field. We also discuss how the $$H_\text {OOP}$$ H OOP field could be affected by the interaction between magnetic stray fields and superconducting vortices. Our experimental findings, supported by numerical modelling of the ferromagnet-superconductor interaction, open pathways to active control of magnetic anisotropy in the emerging dissipation-free superconducting spin electronics.

Topological insulator metamaterial with giant circular photogalvanic effect

One of the most notable manifestations of electronic properties of topological insulators is the dependence of the photocurrent direction on the helicity of circularly polarized optical excitation. The helicity-dependent photocurrents, underpinned by spin-momentum locking of surface Dirac electrons, are weak and easily overshadowed by bulk contributions. Here, we show that the chiral response can be enhanced by nanostructuring. The tight confinement of electromagnetic fields in the resonant nanostructure enhances the photoexcitation of spin-polarized surface states of topological insulator Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.8Se1.2, leading to an 11-fold increase of the circular photogalvanic effect and a previously unobserved photocurrent dichroism (ρcirc = 0.87) at room temperature. The control of spin transport in topological materials by structural design is a previously unrecognized ability of metamaterials that bridges the gap between nanophotonics and spin electronics, providing opportunities for developing polarization-sensitive photodetectors.

Energy of Flipping A Spin

We found that the physics of using a spin’s orientation to store data fundamentally differs from that of using a particle’s position as a (classical) bit of information: the former is quantum dynamic and independent of temperature (if the temperature is below the Curie point), whereas the latter is thermodynamic and thereby dependent on temperature. The formula to calculate the minimum energy of flipping a spin should be the Bohr magneton times the magnetic field. Obviously, the key to calculating such a minimum energy is to find a minimum magnetic field that should not be zero; otherwise, spin-flipping will not take place. Our conclusion is that the energy limit of storing data in a modern way (using a spin’s orientation) is 1.64E-36 J, 15 orders of magnitude lower than that of storing data in a classical way (using a particle’s position), which implies that spin electronics in data storage is fundamentally superior to classical charge-based methods in terms of energy efficiency and computational reversibility. We also verified this new limit based on a spinspin interaction experiment.

Europium monoxide as a basis for creating a high-temperature spin injector in the semiconductor spintronics

The results of the creation of a high-temperature spin injector based on EuO: Fe composite material are discussed. Their magnetic, electrical, structural and resonance parameters are given in a wide range of temperatures and an external magnetic field. A model calculation of the electronic spectrum of the solid solution Eu–Fe–O, responsible for the manifestation of the outstanding properties of the composite, is performed. The possibility of creating semiconductor spin electronics devices capable of operating at room temperature is shown.

Europium monoxide as a basis for creating a high-temperature spin injector in the semiconductor spintronics

The results of the creation of a high-temperature spin injector based on EuO: Fe composite material are discussed. Their magnetic, electrical, structural and resonance parameters are given in a wide range of temperatures and an external magnetic field. A model calculation of the electronic spectrum of the solid solution Eu–Fe–O, responsible for the manifestation of the outstanding properties of the composite, is performed. The possibility of creating semiconductor spin electronics devices capable of operating at room temperature is shown.